MomConnect

Enhancing Maternal Health for New and Expectant Mothers

 

MomConnect is an innovative initiative by the South African National Department of Health. Launched in August 2014, MomConnect is designed to support maternal health by integrating mobile technology solutions tailored for new and expectant mothers.

Background

MomConnect is a response to a pressing need. Maternal and child deaths can be significantly reduced through simple interventions. Some of these interventions are behavioural and demand-side issues, while others are supply-side issues linked to healthcare facilities and the overall health service.

MomConnect is strategically positioned to address demand and supply-side challenges, ensuring comprehensive maternal health support.

My role

In my role as Head of Experience Design and Strategy, I led a team that included a strategist, two content designers, and a UX designer. Our collaborative efforts focused on ideation, design, and the implementation of feature and service developments.

Why mHealth and cell phones?

Mobile technology, specifically cell phone use, can positively change maternal and child health. Numerous successful pilot projects worldwide have demonstrated that cellphone technology can be harnessed to improve Mother and Child Health outcomes. In South Africa, where a significant portion of the population, including pregnant women, owns or has access to cell phones, this technology is particularly well-suited to accelerate interventions of proven value. At first, the service was launched using USSD and text-based systems. Over time, this expanded to WhatsApp as it was a more affordable and accessible user service.

Key objectives

1. Early Registration: To introduce an efficient mechanism for early electronic registration of pregnancies within the public health system.

2. Targeted Health Promotion: To send personalized health promotion messages to pregnant women to improve their health and their infants.

3. User Feedback: To provide pregnant women with an interactive mechanism for offering feedback on the service they have received, thereby ensuring continuous improvement.

The service design approach to this solution enabled a product suite that benefits pregnant women, healthcare workers and the national government.

User-Centered Design

The success of MomConnect is grounded in its unwavering commitment to user-centered design. The platform is meticulously crafted to cater to new and expectant mother’s and healthcare workers' unique needs. Using service design, this platform incorporates three levels of consideration to achieve behaviour change. It includes several critical elements that ensure a seamless and valuable user experience:

  • Subscription: Pregnant women can effortlessly subscribe to the service for free either through SMS (text/ USSD) or WhatsApp. Their information is securely stored in a subscription database, facilitating access to critical information.

  • Registration: The registration process is designed to be straightforward and comprehensive, gathering essential data to tailor messages and enhance future interoperability. Healthcare workers actively assist women during registration, making the process more user-friendly.

  • Messaging: The content of messages is thoughtfully designed to cover a wide range of topics, with each message being personalized based on the user's stage of pregnancy. Furthermore, these messages are thoughtfully translated into all 11 official South African languages, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility.

  • Service Rating: A post-registration survey allows women to share their thoughts and feedback, serving as a vital tool for continuous service improvement.

  • Compliments and Complaints: The service offers a mechanism for women to send compliments or complaints via SMS, ensuring their voices are heard and acted upon to enhance the user experience.

  • Opt-Out Mechanism: Respecting user choices, MomConnect incorporates an opt-out feature. Users can quickly discontinue the service while providing valuable feedback, demonstrating the initiative's dedication to continuous improvement.

Impact

MomConnect is a testament to the power of user-centred design in revolutionizing maternal health. The initiative is instrumental in providing accessible, valuable information to new and expectant mothers while respecting their choices and feedback. This design case study highlights how MomConnect is not just a technological innovation but a beacon of hope for improved maternal and child health outcomes, embodying the potential of user experience design to drive meaningful change.

3m

Registered moms

95%

Of clinics registering women

80%

Mothers giving birth in public clinics are registered on MomConnect.

1m

Active users at any time.